The weekend

So sad the weekend is over. It was gorgeous and lots of fun. Saturday morning Mary Lawton and I ran to church for the blessing of the pets, where Sweet LJ and Coqui were waiting for us. Coqui got a very special blessing--what a nice service. (As a side note, I used to run this route frequently by myself. I probably haven't run it in 2 years. I almost died running it on Saturday while pushing Mary Lawton. Hilly. Very hilly.)

At the blessing of the pets. This is the latest outfit I made for Mary Lawton, mainly as a surprise for Sweet LJ. She wore it all day Saturday, but it didn't help her daddy's Gators.

During Saturday naptime I worked on Mary Lawton's Halloween costume, and then we had friends over for dinner. Sunday included church, lunch out, playing outside, naptime and more costume sewing (almost finished!), picnic snacktime, phone call with Biffy, more playing outside, a walk, and a delicious fall chili dinner.

I can't wait 'til next weekend.

Independence Day!

We had a fun 4th of July weekend. Biffy and Granddaddy hung out with us on Saturday and treated us to a delicious dinner at Farmstead 303. On Sunday I ran the Peachtree Road Race and finished in a respectable 55:53. My biggest fans were there cheering for me.

Alas, I missed them and this fabulous sign.

They were near the finish on the right side of the street. I was on the left. Oops.

But I did get to see it afterward.

That afternoon we headed to Jan and Bruce's for family fun, bbq, and fireworks. Mary Lawton didn't make it through the fireworks, so we took her back to Bruce and Jan's house, put her to bed, and watched the fireworks from their backyard. There were lots of people there--cousins, aunts, uncles, friends--but this seems to be the only picture I took. How embarrassing!

I made her this outfit just for the 4th of July.

Dress #4

It's getting more and more difficult to take this girl's picture! She seems to like this dress. She wanted to put it on when I showed it to her.

Dress #3

I just finished the bloomers (pink and white fabric) today. Mary Lawton is not excited about this dress. I forced her try it on yesterday, and as soon as it was on, she announced she was, "all done!" I think the bows are freaking her out a bit.

Dress #2

with matching bloomers! If you were to turn it inside out, you would see that I did much better on this one than on the first one. I did not do the monogramming myself. I'm nearly finished with dress #3 in a different pattern. Stay tuned...

Dusting off the cobwebs

A lot has been going on, so much so, that I had to choose between living it and blogging about it. As I slip back into my blogging shoes, here's a photo to hold you over: Mary Lawton in the 1st dress I made.

A new hobby

When I was little, my grandmother sewed clothes for me. When we would visit her in Florida, I remember going to fabric stores with her and picking out fabric and patterns. She would sew some outfits, and mail them to me at home when she was finished. Then she moved next door, and it was like having a personal tailor. She made me pants, shorts, dresses, and skirts. I loved them. I still have two of the dresses she made for me--one I wore for May Day in 5th grade, and the other I wore in my 6th grade graduation.

She taught me some basic sewing. She taught me to thread the sewing machine and fill the bobbin. She would have taught me more, but I wasn't patient enough. I didn't want to learn to read a pattern, cut it out, cut out the fabric, etc. I just wanted to sit down and sew. I sewed a lot of drawstring bags. I made everyone I knew a drawstring bag. I still use the safety pin trick to pull the drawstring back through my pajama pants when I accidentally pull it out.

My grandmother passed away in 2008. My mom asked me if I wanted her sewing machine. I said yes, of course. I tried it out. I remembered how to thread the machine. It seemed to need a little repair. It sat for awhile. For my birthday this year, I asked Sweet LJ to get it repaired for me. He did, and it sat for another month or so. Then, finally, I went to the fabric store and picked out 2 patterns and 2 fabrics. Then I started.

And it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Granted, my pattern was a baby dress for Mary Lawton with only 4 pieces (6 counting interfacing). I'm not saying it turned out perfectly. The facings are a total mess, and my seams are crooked, but it's wearable and it was fun. Maybe Gran is guiding my fingers. Thanks, Gran. I miss you.